Pan de Sal (Filipino Bread Roll)

Pan de sal (or Pandesal) is the most popular type of bread in the Philippines. It has become a necessity for Filipino breakfasts. It is great with corned beef, egg, cheese, jam, peanut butter, liver spread, shredded pork, or just about anything. Some choose to eat it on its own, but my favorite way of eating it is with butter and sugar.

Pan de sal is one of the many things that I missed when I was new in Canada and we had to go to a Filipino store to buy some. Thanks to my former neighbor and dear friend, I am now able to make my own pan de sal. I have been making pan de sal since 1994 and I am proud to say that I have perfected it. The trick is to let it rise for many hours after you form it into a roll. I usually let it rise the whole afternoon (5 hours) and bake it while I make dinner. This recipe uses a bread machine to make the dough.